


Crane lullaby

by No1fan15



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, DB era shenanigans, Gay Panic, Gen, Let's capitalize on that, M/M, Remember that time he tried to stop a volcano? Canon proves he's a impulsive idiot, Tien being a dumbass, Time for feelings, of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-24 07:37:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16635686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/No1fan15/pseuds/No1fan15
Summary: They've all done stupid shit before. Usually it's not life threatening.





	Crane lullaby

They should have known by now. 

 

Nothing normal ever happened to them. It was always danger and adventure at every turn. 

 

They were supposed to be training. Walking the winding road wherever it may lead with the occasional detour. Roshi called it training. Everyone else called it tiring but if the old man could do it then so could they. 

They'd already helped half a dozen people on their trek. Fighting baddies and finding lost things. It had almost become a routine. Then they had stopped at a small village by a forested mountainside.

Inevitably some villainous bastard with a troublesome ability had shown his face. He had barely qualified as an opponent for Goku. Defeating him wasn't the problem. 

 

The problem was the fire. 

 

A blaze of bright red fire had consumed mountainside. It was then that they'd learned, with horror, that people did indeed live among the trees. They'd done their best, saving lives with every dive into the inferno, but soon the flames were too strong to go near. As they watched the hellish landscape unfold before them they grieved with the townsfolk for the deaths of their loved ones. Yet even in the midst of all the carnage something else stole their attention.  

 

"Where the hell is Tien?" 

 

Yamcha looked through the crowd anxiously. His rival should have been standing with them. A glance towards the others revealed they'd had similar luck searching. 

"You don't think he's hurt, do you?" Goku asked. 

"I'm sure he's here somewhere." Krillin said. "There's hundreds of people around."

"Then maybe he's lost. We should go find him!" Goku said. 

"Good idea, boys. He shouldn't be too hard to find." Roshi encouraged them. With that endorsement both of them ran off into the sea of people. 

"....You don't really think he's here, do you?" Yamcha said once Goku and Krillin were out of earshot. The silence in lieu of a response was enough to know. Even the master didn't think Tien was there. His gaze shifted to Chiaotzu. Even with permanently white skin his expression still qualified as ashen. Yamcha walked up next to him and watched as his small friend stared unblinking at the flames. ".... is he out there?" 

".... he didn't plan on coming back." Chiaotzu whispered as the terrifying revelation hit him. 

".... what do you mean, he didn't plan on coming back?" Yamcha asked quietly. The chill down his spine confirmed his worst fears as Chiaotzu began to shake his head. 

"He... he's not... he doesn't..." Chiaotzu said. Tears sprung to his eyes and his voice caught. "He doesn't care if he lives or not."

 

That was all it took. Yamcha didn't ask why or for any more details. His friend was in danger. So he ran. 

He ran into the fire while the others shouted at him to come back. He supposed he was just as stupid as Tien was for it. Still he ran. 

He hated that his pace slowed. That the smoke filled his lungs and burned his skin. He wanted to move faster. He had to. The tips of the flames licked at his limbs as he sprinted through the undergrowth. He couldn't stop now. 

He wouldn't learn to sense Ki for several more years yet something led him to Tien. Brittle branches crunched as he dropped to his knees next to a much too still body. They had to get out of here. He pulled one of Tien's arms over his shoulders and started to lift him.

"C'mon, you bastard. Don't leave me." he muttered as he tried to support Tien's weight. Dammit. They were too far from the forests edge to make it back. Not the way they were now. Still. They had to move. Staying here would only bring their death. 

By some grace of a higher power a small cave was just within sight. At the very least it would shield them from some of the flames. With more effort than he thought he'd ever used before Yamcha managed to drag himself and Tien over to it. They'd barely set foot inside the cavern when Yamcha's legs gave out. Still he pressed on. They had to get away from the fire. 

He wasn't sure how he got them to where they were. The cave ceiling was several dozen feet above them. Fresh air was flowing in from a passage hidden from view. They were safe for the moment. Yamcha stared up at the rock from where he lay on his back. With the immediate danger averted he could focus on other things. 

 

"Tien? You awake?" he asked with a hoarse voice. The echo of the cave mocked the silence that was his answer. Yamcha rolled onto his side with his remaining strength and looked at Tien. Despite being burned and no doubt damaged by the smoke he was still breathing. 

"You could at least wake up." Yamcha said quietly. Angry tears started to pick at his eyes as he recalled what Chiaotzu had said. "What the fuck were you thinking? That you don't matter? Newsflash asshole, literally everyone in our social circle cares about you. Even me." 

More silence. The anger turned to fear. 

"Especially me. We can't be rivals if you're dead, birdbrain. Why did you do it? Why didn't you care?" Yamcha continued softly. The crying did little to soothe his feelings. "You can't do that. You can't.... you can't just die. Not when everyone else needs you." 

The quiet in the cave was only broken by the occasional sniffle from Yamcha. Dammit, he hadn't broken down like this in a while. Then again he hadn't felt like this for a while.

"You can't go while I still need you. Gods, I need you so much. I'm not gonna let you do this. I'll bring you back." he said between sobs. "Even if you don't want to... I'll come to the afterlife myself and kick your ass out of there, got that? I'm not letting go of you this easy." 

The stress of everything so far started to catch up with him. He felt his mind begin to blur and his vision fade. The others would find them soon. They had to. Yamcha gathered every bit of power he had left and reached out with a shaky hand. He wasn't going to let go. His fingers wrapped weakly around Tien's. He wouldn't let go, he couldn't, not until he knew they were safe. That Tien was safe. With that final thought the darkness caught up with him and he let it take him. 

 

When he awoke it was hours later. He'd been right to hope everyone else would find them. The fire had been pushed back and the survivors rescued. That included him and Tien. They'd made it. They were both alive. 

Gods, he was never gonna let Tien hear the end of it once he woke up.

He'd probably punch him.

Maybe hug him first. 

He'd figure it out later.

 


End file.
